Bhubaneswar: CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury passed away on Thursday, at the age of 72. He had been undergoing treatment for an acute respiratory tract infection at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi.
Yechury was admitted to AIIMS on August 19 due to a severe pneumonia-like chest infection, and was placed under the care of a multi-disciplinary team in the intensive care unit.
The CPI(M) General Secretary is survived by his wife, Indrani Mazumdar, and their two children, a son and a daughter. His elder son, Ashish Yechury, had passed away in 2021.
Yechury, a prominent figure in Indian leftist politics, had served as the general secretary of the CPI(M) since 2015 and was re-elected for a second term in 2018. He had succeeded Prakash Karat as the CPI-M chief in 2015.
In his last public appearance, Yechury recorded a video from the hospital to pay tribute to his long-time comrade and former West Bengal Chief Minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, who had passed away the previous month. Due to his illness, Yechury was unable to attend Bhattacharya’s funeral.
The Left leader, who recently underwent a cataract surgery, was a member of the CPI-M’s Politburo, the top decision-making body, for over three decades.
Mourning his passing away, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said: “Sitaram Yechury ji was a friend. A protector of the Idea of India with a deep understanding of our country”.
“I will miss the long discussions we used to have. My sincere condolences to his family, friends, and followers in this hour of grief,” he said in a post on X.
“ADIEUCOMRADE Sitaram Yechury Students’ Federation of India dips its banner in honour of our beloved comrade, former All India President of SFI and General Secretary of CPI(M), Sitaram Yechury,” the party’s student wing said on X.
